Compilation of ag-pertinent safety orders now available. Farmers who want to meet their legal responsibilities often have trouble simply getting to know about the rules that they are supposed to follow. In the realm of workplace safety, one general obligation for California employers is to observe every applicable safety order issued under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (Cal-OSHA), but many have found access to those orders to be expensive, cumbersome, or both.
A new reference book developed under APMP sponsorship will help alleviate this problem for farm business operators. Selected Safety Orders Affecting Agricultural Employers, Publication APMP001, contains the general industrial safety orders (GISOs) that are most likely to apply to agricultural work. It includes, for example, rules regarding field sanitation, vegetable-trimming saws, hand and portable power tools, transportation of employees and materials, and tractors. Both a detailed table of contents and a subject index help readers find regulations that pertain to a specific interest.
The 134-page publication was developed by Stephen R. Sutter, APMP Farm Advisor, and L. George Daniels III of the Farm Employers Labor Service. Order the book by title and number from ANR Publications, Dept. NR, University of California, 6701 San Pablo Ave., Oakland, CA 94608-1239. A check payable to UC Regents for $10 will cover tax, postage, and handling. Orders billable to VISA or MasterCard are accepted by phone at 800/994-8849 and by FAX at 510/643-5470.
Farm Safety (La Seguridad Agrícola). AgSafe and the University of California Farm Safety Program have combined their newsletters into a new quarterly publication in English and Spanish, available free of charge. The current issue includes a legislative and regulatory summary, a safety training insert on heat and overexertion, plus listings and reviews of new training videos. To be added to the mailing list, contact Bill Steinke or Jim Meyers at the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, University of California, Davis, CA 95616 (phone: 916/752-1613; fax: 916/752-2640).
Worker Protection Standard training materials. Nonprofit organizations and agricultural employers can receive quantities of the manuals Handbook for Pesticide Handlers and Handbook for Agricultural Field Workers free of charge at four locations in California:
California Hazard Communication Standard for Pesticide Handlers, 16-page guide for agricultural employers developing pesticide-specific handler safety training, has been revised by Steve Sutter. The booklet includes two brief sample pesticide-specific training programs. Send $2, payable to "County of Fresno," to APMP, 1720 S. Maple Ave., Fresno, CA 93702. Purchasers will be notified of any modest regulatory changes effective in 1995.
Copies of Human Resources Instructor's Manual still available. Labor Management in Ag: Cultivating Personnel Productivity, compiled by Gregory Encina Billikopf, presents cases, role-plays, and other teaching materials contributed by labor management specialists from the United States and Canada. Subjects include selection, promotion, performance appraisal, wages and benefits, communication and supervision, training, discipline, turnover, the family farm, and labor relations. Because supplies are limited, the manual can be sent only to those who teach or plan to teach agricultural human resource management in classes or workshops. To obtain a free copy, write on your university or consultant letterhead to Gregory at UC Cooperative Extension, 733 County Center 3, Modesto, CA 95355 or FAX (209/525-4969). A free copy of the Spanish pesticide safety teaching game, La loteria de los pesticidas, may also be obtained with the book.
Free telephone information service for farm workers and others. Bilingual staff are available on Linea Campesina, 1-800-789-9993, from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Mondays through Fridays (messages can be left at other hours) to answer questions on health, education, energy assistance, and housing. The service is a project of the Farm Worker Services Coordinating Council and the Department of Economic Opportunity.
RCAP/MESA Newsletter is a quarterly publication of the Rural Community Assistance Program, which, through the MESA Program, provides technical assistance on environmental health issues to migrant and community health centers, public health agencies, and other organizations working on behalf of migrants and seasonal farm workers. Subjects include water, waste disposal, housing, field sanitation, pesticide safety, and occupational health needs. For more information, contact RCAP at 602 South King Street, Suite 402, Leesburg, VA 22075 (703/771-8636).
Workers' Compensation Monitor, a newsletter published six times a year, presents articles on national workers' compensation trends and policies, as well as abstracts of published studies. The editor is John F. Burton, Jr., Director of the Institute of Management and Labor Relations at Rutgers University in New Jersey. (See his article "The California Reform from a National Perspective," in Labor Management Decisions, Spring 1994.) Subscriptions are available at $160 per year from LRP Publications, 747 Dresher Road, P.O. Box 980, Horsham, PA 19044-0980. Phone: 800/341-7874.
Videotape, ATV Safety on the Farm, presents a concise overview of safety basics in using all-terrain vehicles for both farm operators and employees. Each videotape is available for $35 plus $3.50 shipping and handling from The Ohio State University, Dept. of Agricultural Engineering, Extension Safety and Health, 590 Woody Hayes Drive, Columbus, OH 43210-1057 (phone 614/292-6519).
Safety training videos. Visual Education Productions, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA 93407, offers a catalog of its training videos on safety in agriculture, horticulture, landscaping, lawn care, and in workshops. Orders are taken by phone (800/235-4146) or by FAX (805/756-5550).
Back to: Contents | LMD Main Page | APMP Home